Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) Price Target to $17.00

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $17.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the savings and loans company’s stock.

Separately, TheStreet downgraded shares of Provident Financial Services from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Provident Financial Services Trading Up 1.3 %

PFS stock opened at $14.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.07. Provident Financial Services has a 12 month low of $13.43 and a 12 month high of $19.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.56 and its 200 day moving average is $15.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Provident Financial Services (NYSE:PFS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The savings and loans company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $114.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $114.30 million. Provident Financial Services had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 18.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Provident Financial Services will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

Provident Financial Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.59%. Provident Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Mcnerney sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.86, for a total value of $89,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,223.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Provident Financial Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PFS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,922,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,953,765 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $75,833,000 after acquiring an additional 466,497 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,073,084 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $25,110,000 after acquiring an additional 403,067 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp bought a new position in shares of Provident Financial Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,873,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Provident Financial Services by 84.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,642 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $11,731,000 after acquiring an additional 298,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.97% of the company’s stock.

About Provident Financial Services

Provident Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Provident Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. Its deposit products include savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, money market deposit, and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as IRA products.